


Ferris Wheels Aren't Inherently Romantic

by Myoneloveismusic



Series: JayTim Week 2017 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Carnival, Handholding, Heatwave, JayTimWeek, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-02 13:40:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11510565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myoneloveismusic/pseuds/Myoneloveismusic
Summary: It's the middle of the worst heatwave in Gotham and Tim is barely surviving. Luckily, Jason knows just what to do to have some fun. It always helps when the carnival is in town.





	Ferris Wheels Aren't Inherently Romantic

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely adore this fic and hope that you will, too! I had a lot of fun writing it and I'm so glad that JayTimWeek is back. This is for Day 1: Heatwave/Carnival.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim was lying on the floor of his apartment when Jason burst through the door. Tim had nothing but a pair of boxers on and a fan blowing over him to try and fend off the heat and sweat that wouldn’t seem to leave him alone since Gotham’s heatwave had started. It’d been going on for most of the week and Tim found it hard to do anything during the day let alone go out and patrol at night. The good thing about that though, was that the criminals couldn’t bring themselves to go around committing crimes because they didn’t want to leave their blessed air conditioning. And most people weren’t venturing out at night because they couldn’t stand the rising temperatures either.

“Tim!” Jason exclaimed, before freezing in his tracks at the sight of Tim splayed out on the floor. His eyes zeroed in on Tim’s abs, a few beads of sweat pooling between the ridges of his muscles and making his mouth go dry, no thanks to the heat.

Tim groaned and tilted his head back to look at him. “Jasooonnnnn, you like punching people into submission, punch the weather into being colder. This heat wave is killing me. It’s too hot to do anything. It’s too hot to sit at my computer and it’s too hot to go out and patrol. Make the weather cower in fear until it does what you want.”

Jason snorted, thankful that Tim was able to pull him from the very dangerous direction that his thoughts had decided to take him. He walked forward until he was standing next to Tim and put his hands on his hips so that he could look down on him. Despite how hot Tim looked, both literally and figuratively, he also looked pretty pathetic, the heat having obviously drained him of energy and any motivation to do anything.

“Get up and get dressed. I know where we can go that can help alleviate your pain a little bit. Or at least take your mind off of how much you’re suffering. It’s probably cooler outside anyway instead of here in your apartment. At least outside, you have an actual breeze. A really good one if you’re down by the water, too.”

Tim groaned. “No, I don’t want to get up.”

“I’ll get you something cold to eat and or drink,” he bribed.

“Iced coffee?” Tim asked, cracking open one of his eyes.

Jason snorted again. “If that’s really what you want, but I was thinking more of ice cream or a slushy.”

Tim sighed, but pushed himself into a sitting position after a moment. “Fine, I’ll go and get dragged to who knows where by you. But all I’m saying is that it better be worth it.”

Jason reached out a hand and pulled Tim to his feet. “You’ll just have to wait and see then,” he said to Tim’s back as he headed back to his room. “And you better not be a grump this whole time!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tim shot back.

Jason shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and leaned against the arm of Tim’s couch. It wasn’t too long before Tim emerged again, this time wearing board shorts and a tank top, much to Jason’s surprise. He didn’t think that Tim would actually own something so casual. He was half-expecting him to walk out in kakis and a polo. He grabbed his wallet and a pair of sunglasses and went to stand by the front door.

“You coming? Where’s this great place that you’re going to take me to?”

Jason pushed himself off the couch, letting himself take one last look over where Tim’s shirt revealed the toned muscles of his arms. “I’ll show you,” he said, walking past him and out the door.

Tim huffed behind him, but locked his apartment and followed him towards the stairs and through the lobby. The initial blast of heat that washed over Tim as he stepped from the building was the worst and had him turning on his foot to head back inside, but Jason’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. He pulled him down the sidewalk and threw and arm over his shoulder to keep him from running off.

“Jason, stop. It’s too hot to have you hanging all over me,” he said, trying to push his arm off.

“Well if I don’t, you might decide to run away,” he said, even as he let his arm fall back to his side.

“Ugh, I should’ve grabbed some sunscreen. I’m going to end up burnt after this.”

“Can you stop complaining for one minute?” Jason asked, even as he pulled a small bottle of sunscreen from one of the pockets of his cargo shorts and pressed it against Tim’s chest.

“Oh…thank you,” he said, staring at it in disbelief.

“You’re welcome. Now is there anything else that I can get you, your highness?” he asked, sarcastically.

“No. This is great thanks.” Tim felt embarrassed by his behavior and the things that he’d already said. Jason had come to him to try and help him have some fun and alleviate the heat and the least that he could do would be to go along with him and try to be happy about it all. This would probably end up being better than lying on the floor of his apartment anyway.

As they wove their way through the streets, Tim kept trying to figure out where they were going. He thought surely that after the next turn they’d be stopping somewhere or Jason would be pulling him through the door of the next building. But nothing came, and he continued to get even more confused when he realized they were headed in the direction of the beach and the pier.

“Are we going to the pier?” he asked.

“Yup.”

Tim waited for Jason to elaborate, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Okay, I’ll bite. Why?”

“You’ll see.”

Tim raised an eyebrow at Jason’s secretive answer. He was mulling over what else he could say to make him elaborate when they turned the last corner and got to the pier. He stopped in his tracks as he took in all of the rides and booths that were set up. The laughter of children filled the air, carried by the breeze from the top of the Ferris wheel and the swings that were tilting out over the water.

“A carnival?” Tim questioned.

Jason looked back at him over his shoulder. “Yeah. You have a problem with the carnival?”

He shook his head. “No. I just wasn’t expecting it. Didn’t even know there was one going on to be honest.”

“Well come on then. You’re not going to get to ride anything or eat any unhealthy food by just standing there.”

Tim smiled and hurried forward to catch up with Jason. He looked around in awe at the different flashing lights. Several tents with games were lined up on the boardwalk with different kids trying to win prizes. There were a few couples walking around sharing cotton candy and small containers of food, too. It was all so new to him and the atmosphere itself was exciting. He started to chuckle unable to contain the excitement that bloomed within him at all of the possibilities that he was surrounded with.

“What do you want to do first?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know. There’s so much! What do you think?” he asked, grinning widely.

Jason looked a little surprised by Tim’s reaction. If his raised eyebrows above the tops of his sunglasses were anything to go by. “I guess we could start with some rides. The tilt-a-whirl or the swings are always good places to start.”

“Lead the way,” Tim said even as he continued to look around himself in awe. Jason gripped his wrist loosely and led him in the direction of the rides so that he could still look around himself. There wasn’t much of a line for the tilt-a-whirl since that was one most people avoided if they’d been eating food. It was also one that took a large number of passengers at once, so there never really was much of a line even on the busiest of days.

Jason showed two passes to the worker and pulled Tim along with him to board. He stood up against the wall and Tim did the same, even though he was looking around himself, slightly confused.

“Everything okay over there? You’re not going to throw up on me are you?” Jason asked.

“No, I’m fine,” he said, settling back against the wall.

“You’re confused about something and want to ask me about it, I can tell.”

“No, it’s fine.”

The door to the circle was pushed shut and a few moments later, the machine was shuddering and being raised up. It began to spin, slowly gaining speed, allowing the momentum to hold them back against the walls of the ride. Tim let out a little squeak when the ride began to tilt and he could see over the edge to the pier and the people walking around beyond.

“You okay over there?” Jason asked over the rush of the wind.

“Fine! This is amazing!” Tim said, laughing.

Jason smiled, glad that Tim was having a good time and wasn’t afraid or about to get sick like he thought would happen. Slowly the ride righted itself and slowed down before being lowered to its base. Jason stepped forward and looked over at Tim. His hair was windswept and he had a slight flush on his cheeks that complimented his shining eyes.

He stepped forward, a little wobbly, and gripped Jason’s arm tightly. “That was amazing! We should go again!”

Jason looked down at Tim who was staring up at him and furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. “We can do this one again later. We should head for the swings next, that one always gets pretty crowded.”

Tim was pretty much vibrating with excitement as Jason led him to the next ride. He was hoping to help him forget the stifling heat and actually have some fun in the midst of summer, but he hadn’t expected Tim to act like a little kid in a candy store. He couldn’t really complain, though. Tim was grinning and bouncing on the balls of his feet as they waited, shooting excited looks between Jason and the front of the line. Hell, he wasn’t even complaining that they had to wait.

As they reached the front of the line, Jason flashed the passes that he’d brought again and the two of them were let through. They grabbed the two swings that were next to each other and strapped in, Tim swinging his legs below him now that he was off the ground. He held tightly to the chains that were connected to his seat and looked so excited, that Jason couldn’t help but laugh.

“What is it?” Tim asked.

“You. You’re just so excited.”

“How could I not be?” Tim asked as they began to be raised from the ground.

Jason just shook his head as they began to be spun around. He kept his eyes on Tim who was holding tightly to the chains and looked around himself. He caught Jason watching him and shot him a grin. Jason smiled back and closed his eyes as the wind whipped through his hair. The swings were one of his favorite rides because he always felt like he was flying, the magic not even having worn off after his years of flying through Gotham with a grapple gun. And it still ended too quickly for his liking.  

“I can see why that’s so popular,” Tim said as he ran a hand through his hair to try and tame it, but just made it stick up even more.

“Yeah,” Jason said, throwing an arm around Tim’s shoulders. “That one is definitely one of my favorites. I just wish that we had a roller coaster to ride, but that’s too much for a carnival to set up, I guess.”

“We’ll have to go to an amusement park, then,” Tim said.

“Yeah-“

“What are those?” he asked, pointing excitedly.

Jason squinted and looked forward. “Those are the spinning teacups. Want to ride ‘em?”

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Tim said, grabbing Jason’s hand and pulling him along.

Jason swallowed, trying not to think about how much he liked the look of their hands holding each other and the way Tim’s slender fingers were nearly swamped by his own large hands. They rushed through the gates and made it to the front of the line, getting the last available seat before the ride started. Jason slid in next to Tim and watched as the attendant secured the door to their cup before moving off the conveyor belt.

“Alright, Tim. How fast should we make this go?” Jason asked, gripping the wheel in front of him.

“I’ll be disappointed if it’s anything slower than as fast as humanly possible.”

“Well, then good thing the Red Hood is here to make you dizzy,” he said, grinning.

As soon as the ride began, Jason got them going as fast as he could. His muscles strained from the effort, but he couldn’t find it in himself to complain or slow down when Tim was quickly reduced to happy giggles. He’d tried to keep up and make the cup spin with Jason, but just ended up getting pushed into his side. He held onto Jason instead, enjoying the feeling of being whipped around by the ride and the effort Jason was exerting to keep them moving.

Tim was still giggling when they slowed to a stop, Jason was gasping for air, trying to bring more of it into is lungs as he let his arms fall back to his lap. He could run across rooftops and punch out thugs all night, but keeping Tim and him moving that fast for that long was the hardest workout he’d ever done in his life. But the smile that Tim wore was completely worth it.

They were both a little wobbly on their feet when they stood up and leaned against each other as they walked through the exit.

“Jay-jason,” Tim forced out, between his chuckles.

“Yeah, what is it?” he asked, pulling Tim closer with the arm that had become draped around his shoulder.

“Do you think we could get something to eat? I’m kind of hungry. And I think that I need a minute before I go on another ride after that one.”

“Sure thing. How about some chilidogs?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Jason led them back down through the various tents, looking for food vendors. They passed an ice cream truck and a cotton candy vendor which he’d have to bring Tim back to later. It wasn’t until they reached the grouping of picnic tables set up for people to eat at, that they found a food truck that had chili dogs.

“Why don’t you grab us a table and I can grab us some food?”

“Sure thing,” Tim said, moving away easily now that his legs didn’t feel like jelly and he wasn’t worried that he was going to fall over at any moment.

Jason smiled as he watched him go. He couldn’t remember ever being around Tim when he was so happy. His grouchy mood long forgotten in favor of the joys that the carnival had to provide for them. He’d have to find more things to bring Tim to in the city. It would probably be a good chance for him if he got out of the house. And would give him a reason to put away his computer and the case files that he always seemed to be obsessing over.

“I’d like two chilidogs and two cokes, please,” Jason said as he stepped up to the window to order.

“Coming right up, that’ll be $8.50, sir,” the woman working the register said.

Jason pulled out his wallet and passed over a ten dollar bill. He slipped the change back inside and stuffed it into his back pocket before taking the bag and drinks.

“Thanks,” he said, turning from the window to be met with a very annoying sight. There was a guy leaning over Tim at his picnic table and if the frown on Tim’s face was anything to go by, he wasn’t enjoying the company.

“Why don’t you come on the Ferris wheel with me? You look pretty lonely here all by yourself.”

“I’m not alone,” Tim shot back and he was definitely annoyed and not appreciating the sudden company that he’d gotten.

“You look pretty alone sitting here by yourself. If you’re not alone then who’s here with you?”

“Me,” Jason said, voice low and dangerous. He carefully set down the bag of food and the two drinks so that he wouldn’t spill anything. He crossed his arms and glared at the guy who’d decided he’d been standing far too close to Tim.

“Oh, sorry, man, I didn’t realize-“

“Of course you didn’t. Now beat it.”

Jason watched with more than a little satisfaction as he turned tail and practically ran away from the two of them. Jason sat down on the bench next to Tim and passed him one of the sodas as he pulled open the bag to find their foil-wrapped food within.

“Thanks for that Jason,” Tim sighed.

“No problem. That’s what I’m here for.” Jason passed a chilidog to Tim before pulling the foil off his own. He was irritated now. That guy had obviously ruined Tim’s good mood that Jason had been so fortunate to bring about and worked so hard for. He hoped that it wouldn’t ruin the rest of the day for them.

“What, to scare off anyone who decides to approach me?” Tim asked, small smile tugging at his lips.

“Naw, not anyone who decides to approach you, just the jerks who don’t know when to leave you alone and are after your virtue,” Jason said taking a bite and smiling around the food in his mouth.

“Oh, so now you’re protecting my virtue? I’m pretty sure that I lost my virtue when I decided to become a vigilante.”

Jason faked a gasp. “I didn’t realize B was getting so serious when he sent you off in drag.”

Tim stared at him for a moment before he burst into laughter, nearly choking on his food. He grabbed his soda and took a large sip to get it down his throat. “What the hell, Jason?”

“Hey, this one was all you.”

“Thanks, Jason.”

He shook his head. “It’s the least that I could do after I dragged you all the way here.”

“It’s been fun. I never got to go to a carnival as a kid so it’s been really exciting and fun. Thanks for bringing me.”

Jason felt his chest tighten. Tim’s behavior suddenly made sense in how he didn’t quite understand all the intricacies of the rides and everything. He wanted to do something more. Wanted to definitely make this the most memorable carnival experience that Tim would ever have. He gathered up their trash as they finished eating.

“Come on,” he said, tossing it into the garbage. “There’s something else that we need to do in order to really cement this experience for you.”

“And what’s that?” Tim asked, hurrying after him.

“We have to play some carnival games!”

Tim gave him a skeptical look. “Jason, everyone knows that those are rigged.”

“Oh, so you’re the expert on carnivals now?” he asked, stopping in front of a shooter game.

“No, but it’s pretty much common sense.”

“Well, rigged or not, I’m going to win something for you.”

“Oh, you are, are you?”

“Yes! One round, please,” he said, addressing the bored-looking worker.

“That’ll be $3,” he said, holding out his hand.

Jason pulled out his wallet and handed over the bills. The worker added them to the cash box and handed him the toy gun before he started the game. The metal setup came to life as the heads of Gotham’s villains popped up and began to move back and forth.

“You get five shots. Each shot is worth a point and determines what kind of prize you get to pick from. You hit the Joker, that’s an automatic win and you get to pick from the special level of prizes. Got it?” he explained.

“Got it.” Jason surveyed the moving heads, eyes moving past Harley and Ivy, The Riddler and Penguin. Finally his eyes landed on the one face that he hated most of all with its green hair and Glasgow smile. He raised the gun that had been given to him and fired off all five shots in quick succession, following the path that it took around the frame. The added force of all the shots was enough to knock it backwards. Most people assumed that one shot would be enough, but the plastic balls wouldn’t have had enough force on their own.

Jason grinned as he handed the toy gun back. The worker looked a little shocked. He’d obviously never seen anyone beat it before.

“Um…congratulations, I guess. You have your pick of the top row of prizes.”

“All right, Timmy, what do you want?” he asked, pulling Tim close to him and throwing his arm around his shoulders.

“I really don’t care, Jason. You were the one who wanted to play this game. It’s your prize so pick whatever you want.”

Jason pouted. “I told you that I was going to win you something. But fine, give me the largest teddy bear up there.”

The worker carefully pulled down a brown bear with a red bow around its neck. “I hope your boyfriend likes it at least,” he said, adopting the bored tone that he’d had when Jason had first approached the booth.

Jason froze as he turned to Tim. Tim’s mouth had dropped open and his face had become flushed.

“Wait, we’re not dating! He’s not my boyfriend!” Tim explained frantically, waving his hands in front of himself.

“You’ve got the wrong idea, we just came as friends,” Jason added.

The worker looked between the two of them and shrugged. “Could’ve fooled me, but okay.”

Jason shoved the bear into Tim’s arms and it was probably half his size. “Oh, look, the sun’s going down, there’s one last thing that I wanted to do,” Jason said, voice higher than normal as he pulled Tim away from the stall. His brain had pretty much frozen after the worker suggested they were dating, because as much as he really sort of wished they were after the day they’d had, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Tim had obviously been embarrassed by the idea and probably wouldn’t want to date him anyway.

“So,” Tim said, clearing his throat. “Where are we going?”

“Ferris wheel. You can’t go to a carnival and not ride it and the best time is when the sun starts to go down.”

Most of the people who’d been at the carnival had already cleared out and Jason and Tim were two of the last stragglers and luckily didn’t have to wait in line.

“You made it just in time for the last ride,” the attendant said as he secured the bar across their laps. “Enjoy.” They slowly began their descent up and around, leaving the platform they’d used to board behind.

“Jason?” Tim asked, clutching tightly to the hand of the bear where it sat next to him.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for today. I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed myself. You made my first carnival experience pretty awesome.”

“I’m sure that you would’ve had as much fun if Dick had taken you.”

“I don’t think so. I think I had so much fun because it was you here with me.”

Jason swallowed and silence fell between them as they reached the top of. He looked at the fiery-red sky that expanded out over the tops of the buildings of Gotham and reflected off the water. It was an amazing sight, one that the two of them didn’t get to experience too often.

“Tim? I’m going to do something now and you can stop me if you want, but I really hope that you don’t.”

“Okay,” Tim breathed.

Jason turned to find Tim already watching him. He was so close, blue eyes searching his face and lips slightly parted. Jason reached out and cupped the side of his face, carefully bringing their faces closer together as they began to descend and leave the sunset behind. The first brush of lips was soft and ignited a need within Jason to taste more and feel Tim’s lips beneath his. He wrapped his other arm around Tim as much as he was able with the bar in the way and pulled him close, pressing their lips together more firmly. Tim gripped tightly to his shirt and tilted his head back to deepen the kiss.

After a moment, Jason pulled away. He knew that they were approaching the bottom of the ride and didn’t want to give the workers a show in case that made Tim uncomfortable, but Tim just smiled happily and snuggled into his side, humming contentedly when Jason draped his arm firmly around his shoulders.

The worker smiled at them when they reached the bottom and left the attractions and empty booths behind. Jason walked Tim back to his apartment, making sure to keep their hands tangled together the entire way. Tim used his other arm to keep his bear, now named Red, close to his chest. Jason knew that he had the goofiest smile on his face, but he couldn’t help himself, especially when Tim looked so happy.

Tim turned to face him when they reached the front of his complex and hid his smile behind his bear, looking up at Jason through his eyelashes, making Jason bite his lip at the sight.

“Thanks for coming out with me, today,” Jason said.

“Thanks for taking me to a carnival. See you later?” he asked, hopefully.

“Yeah…yeah.” He cupped Tim’s face and pulled him from behind Red’s head to bring their lips together one last time. When Tim pulled away he bit his lip and turned to go into his apartment building.

Jason wouldn’t admit it to anyone who asked, but when Tim looked over his shoulder before climbing up the stairs on the other side of the lobby and gave him one last smile before he disappeared it made his heart soar. And if he walked home with a grin on his face…well, the cause of that was for him to know and no one to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback, comments, and kudos are loved and appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: My-one-love-is-music.tumblr.com
> 
> Twitter: twitter.com/m_o_l_i_m


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